


Electric Blue

by pureklaination



Series: Year In The Life [6]
Category: Glee / Teen Wolf RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-14
Updated: 2014-02-14
Packaged: 2018-01-12 08:39:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1184181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pureklaination/pseuds/pureklaination
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where things get more twisted than messy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Electric Blue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crisscobrien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crisscobrien/gifts).



> Valentines - part 3

“I’m really glad you picked up your phone, thank you.” Darren said quickly, “please just give me a chance, talk to me.”

He heard Dylan breathe out on the other side of the line. “Hi Darren, I’m sorry - I was just… It was,” he sighed dramatically. “Look. I got intimidated by your relationship with Chris.”

Darren scoffed, “You got intimidated by my relationship with Chris or you got intimidated by _Chris_?”

“Well, _Chris_ more specifically.” Dylan said.

“Trust me, I know. I’m intimidated by him and we’ve known each other for years.” Darren said, then continued after a pause with, “I’m sorry - for what he said to you. What- _ever_ he said to you. He told me he’d been drinking.”

Darren felt like if he could see Dylan nodding, judging by the rustling on the other side of the phone. “Yeah,” he agreed, finally. “Not that that’s an excuse.”

“No, but I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah?” Dylan asked, needing to know for sure.

“Yeah.”

There was an uncomfortable silence and Darren wished (not for the first time) that the situation could be less awkward. “Could I take you out?” He blurted, with no tact whatsoever.

Dylan cleared his throat, “When?”

“In three days?” Darren suggested. ”Maybe 6 o’clock?”

“Valentine’s?” _Damn_.

“Yes.”

Dylan thought about it for a few seconds staying quiet on the line, meanwhile the anticipation was killing Darren.

“Yes.” He said at last.

Darren couldn’t help the silent punch he gave in the air. He might just be able to fix this. “Dress up, I’m going to wine and dine you.”

“Then take me home and…?” Dylan asked suggestively.

“It’s not fair when you use song lyrics on me.” Darren said once he’d finished gulping.

“You started it.”

“So,” Darren changed the subject, “Friday night?”

“Friday night, 6 o’clock, I’ll see you then.” And then Dylan hung up.

Darren sat on the floor near his bed, basking in finally being back on speaking terms with Dylan. There was no way Dylan would have just suddenly changed his mind and decided to start taking his calls again. Someone must have said something, no, Chris must have said something. Somehow. But to Darren’s knowledge Chris didn’t have Dylan’s number.

Shrugging, he flicked off a quick text to Chris: **{Darren} Thank you.** An odd text to get at 1.30am, but in context it was enough to get Chris a decent night’s sleep that night.

Surprised when a reply came back no more than a minute later; [Chris] I assume Dylan spoke to you?

So Chris _did_ say something to Dylan, the text was all the confirmation Darren needed. **{Darren} Yeah, and he said you apologised for being a dick. I told him to get used to it :D**

[Chris] Thanks. I’ll try not to be such a dick in the future. Sorry again.

 **For the record I’m still pissed at you, I’m just a bit LESS pissed.** It was true, he was definitely still angry.

[Chris] Fair call, does this mean I can make our usual Valentine’s bookings?

**{Darren} Nup, busy that night, got a hot date.**

[Chris] Well if I don’t qualify for dinner, how about lunch?

Good question? Could Darren see Chris and Dylan both in one day? Was it even worth it to be accidentally photographed with Chris that day? God, this was all getting way too hard, too fast. Thinking for a few more seconds, Darren typed out a reply: ‘12pm?’

[Chris] It’s a date.

He sent back a smiley face. It wasn’t a date, not really. There hadn’t been a “date” between them in years. It was just something they did because it was what Kurt and Blaine would do, it was practically work. Well, except for what they generally did after.

But Chris couldn’t possibly expect that after everything he’d just been through, would he?

But then again he totally could.

_Shit._

***

Darren was walking on cloud nine the next day at work, greeting everyone he saw with a smile and a wink. Natalie and Catherine both noticed his abrupt change of mood and commented on it. Rather than saying something that would end up all over set in 15 seconds flat just smiled and said, “I would share, but then I would have to kill you.”

He even managed a full smile at Chris. Darren was still pissed at his apparent inability to keep his mouth shut, but nothing short of the apocalypse could put a damper on his good mood. Thinking that, he looked up at the sky in case a meteor chose that moment to shoot across the sky. Satisfied that the apocalypse was _not_ imminent he whistled and headed to the first set of the day: the Choir Room.

After three hours of filming Darren was definitely down from his high, ready to give up and go home for the day. But he had no such luck; Blaine was in the process of moving to New York so he had another scene that afternoon - walking down the McKinley hallways and talking on the phone to Kurt.

They had a silly conversation about the importance of space and Chris cracked a few jokes over the line. The set used Skype to save on costs but the easiest way to film a phone conversation was to actually have one. But of course that meant both Chris and Darren had to repeat the script 47 times before they were finally released for the day.

Chris winked at Darren as they went to their separate cars in the early evening and just like that there were only two days until Valentine’s.

He hadn’t gotten either Chris or Dylan any presents yet; Darren really hadn't had enough time but he was hoping he could find _something_ for both of them. Just a token would do for Chris, given the nature of their relationship at the moment, but Darren had always taken extreme care in his gift-giving. Something personal and special for each person individually.

Two days probably weren’t going to be enough time.

***

Luckily, the next day he was free from afternoon filming. Waving goodbye to the crew on his way out, Darren headed straight for his car and left for the mall.

Dylan. He hardly knew Dylan, but there were hints in their conversations about music, or the amount of time Dylan spent on his phone, the alcohol they drank and how little time he ever spent near a computer.

In comparison with Chris, Dylan was a bit anti-technology and tended towards choosing human contact first.

 _Concert Tickets._ That was Darren’s first thought, followed by movie tickets, then by a personalized concert performed in his basement by Darren himself.

All of those had the added advantage of Dylan spending more time with him, which was kind of a bonus really.

But then if something happened between now and whatever the tickets would be for they would be a bit superfluous.

He bit his lip and hit the volume button on the car stereo. Darren had a million things on his mind right up until the second he found a parking spot at the mall closest to his house. Pulling on a cap and getting out of the car, he considered that next year he would plan this shit in advance and just order from EBay or Amazon like Chris had undoubtedly done.

He wandered around aimlessly for a bit, choosing the more _pricey_ boutiques upstairs rather than the main department stores downstairs. If he could think of the right thing this would be a lot easier, but he was stumped.. A couple of people noticed him walking around and Darren felt obligated to stop and take a photo with one of the girls, immediately recognising the mistake when she loaded it up to Twitter right in front of him.

Shit. He had to get out of here. Bidding the young lady goodbye, Darren quickly ducked into the first shop along the way. Electronics. Figures. He went to the back wall and their rather impressive display of laptop bags. Chris’s had been looking a little worse for wear and it was _just_ personal enough for a co-worker. Perfect.

Holding a shopping bag with the black and silver bag inside seemed a bit ridiculous. But for the sake of any other fans he may or may not run into, Darren figured it was the safest option.

That left Dylan’s gift.

Scanning over the stores in the vicinity, Darren’s eyes settled on a sunglasses stall a few shops down. They had an impressive display of brand new aviators, so he strolled over head down and quickly. The sunglasses would probably work, not completely I-didn’t-know-what-to-get-you.

He chose a set with gold rims and a dark brown tint, thinking that they would go perfectly with Dylan’s eyes. After paying for them and getting the complementary Valentine’s gift-wrapping, he left the shops.

It wasn’t until Darren got home that he thought that maybe he should have gotten something for dinner, because the damn fridge was empty again.

Thank god they fed him properly on set, because if it was up to Darren alone he would skip more meals than was healthy.

***

The last day before Valentines was kind of a non-event. Darren went to work at the ass-crack of dawn, danced around in the choir room for nine hours, then went home where he had a beer and passed out cold on the couch before even washing the gel out of his hair. He had too much to worry about the next day.

***

Morning on Valentine’s dawned overcast and grey looking, heading for a top temperature of 66 degrees. _Great_.

Darren spent a little longer than usual in the shower, tidying up everything and making sure he smelled as good as possible. Because even if the lunch date was not _that_ kind of date, it was only courteous to at least put a little extra effort in. Otherwise what was the point of having a day of making something special for the important people in your life?

Darren sighed. _People_ indeed. Chris and Dylan were both so very different, yet so similar. He wanted both of them to have the best Valentine’s he could provide. But Chris was supposed to just be a friend. It was completely against his moral judgement to date both of them at the same time. But as long as Dylan and he were just _dating_ and not exclusive… Thinking about it, there was no real justification other than Darren being selfish.

But then, Chris knew better. He knew Dylan was in the picture and even that they were going out that night but… It was complicated.

Chris was… Everything to Darren for ages, basically from the moment they met until the last night of Glee Live.

Now, it was more complicated than that, but they were friends and had even managed to maintain the kind of causal relationship two close co-workers could have. But not without a few detours into completely-too-complicated-and-possibly-not-worth-it.

But at the same time, totally worth it.

He was at an age now where people expected a solid relationship, invitations to couple-y things like dinners and double-dates. Things he hadn’t really thought about a few years prior came up occasionally, and he would bow out gracefully or stop by for a few minutes to talk to people then make up an excuse.

It wasn’t a _thing_ until he made it one. But still. There was also the problem of coming home to his empty apartment - that wore thin after a while. Especially after a tour; going from a life of having people around all the time, basically feeding off the joint adrenaline of a group…to what he had now.

At some point Darren had to admit to himself that he was lonely.

And that at this rate of wallowing he was probably going to be late to work.

Shit.

***

“I’ve gotta admit, I did think for a minute that you weren't going to show up today.”

Darren looked up from his phone to see Chris behind him in the mirror, already fully dressed and ready for filming.

“We have to reshoot the phone call, well, at least a part of it. They changed the lines. Apparently it was too _deep_.” He continued.

“Good morning, Chris. You’ve gone through so much effort, it’s just me, you know?” Darren replied.

Chris motioned at his outfit, “What all this? I just had this laying around at home -- don’t think all this is for you… And the make-up was in the cabinet, is it passable?”

Darren laughed, turning and giving Chris a once-over from top to toe. He looked amazing, but a little young and Kurt-like for his usual ‘type’.

“A bit young for me, don’t you think?”

Chris smirked, “Apparently only a year younger than you like?”

“Touche`” Darren said, poking his tongue out. “But I like a whole lot _less_ in the make-up department, let me tell you.”

Chris rolled his eyes in response, “Debatable.”

Changing the subject quickly, Darren replied with, “So are you ready for our completely-platonic date this afternoon?”

“Subtle, Darren. Yes, I may have even packed a change of clothes for it, if you’re lucky.” Chris said.

Fuck, clothes -- he should have thought of that. Darren tuned back around to the mirror, panicking slightly.

“You do know I can see your reflection, yeah?” Chris said, meeting his eyes in the mirror. “I’m sure there’s something on the racks that will fit you and you could charm Nat into almost _anything._

“Chris, I’m not sure I like what you’re implying there,” Natalie said, walking into the room with Darren’s clothes for the day. “I’m not so easily persuaded into giving out costume departments goods. What’s the occasion?”

Darren took the opportunity to take a sip of the orange juice in front of him, while Chris smoothly took over, “Darren and I are going to lunch, but we’d prefer to be less conspicuous than the Ken Doll looks we’re rocking right now.”

Natalie winked, “Gotcha, lunch on Valentine’s Day, incognito. I’ll see what I can do.”

Darren put a hand to his forehead, fully expecting a flurry of questions from Natalie the second Chris left the room.

“And Natalie?” She looked at Chris again. “On the downlow?” He said before leaving.

Natalie brought the clothing bag over and settled it on the back of Darren’s chair. Where was Catherine? She tapped his shoulder and Darren gave a pathetic little sigh before looking up at her. “I’m specifically not going to ask about what you’re doing with Chris and about what happened to Dylan because you so obviously have no idea what you’re doing.” She took a breath, “but Darren, so help me if you guys spend the next year avoiding each other because of another stupid mistake, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

With that and a nod she left and Darren was left contemplating his orange juice and maybe his life choices. Again.

***

Lucy’s El Adobe Cafe was exactly how Darren remembered it. When he and Chris walked in at midday the place was almost deserted, but apparently Chris had made reservations anyway. It was sweet that he still went to the effort. Darren found himself grinning as they made their way to one of the back tables and were presented with menus.

“I wasn’t sure…” Chris started, rifling around in his bag for a minute, “I mean, I knew flowers would be overkill but I wanted to get you something for Valentine’s and just tell me if it’s too much and I’ll- I don’t know, take it back or something.” He finished.

Darren laid a hand over Chris’s on the table, “Shh it’s fine, I got you something too. It’s _also_ probably a bit much for a lunch date but you know.”

Chris nodded, “I know.” He proceeding to pull a smallish black box out of his bag and placed it on the table in front of them.

Darren opened his dark blue bag, and pulled out the only thing in it apart from his keys. Luckily it zipped closed and didn’t ruin the surprise before this point. But once it was out of the cover, the wrapped laptop bag looked kind of big and chunky in comparison with Chris’s gift.

Darren was utterly shit at wrapping and probably should have gone for a gift bag… But a bag in a bag seemed kinda wasteful, so he’d settled on a shoddy wrap-job.

“Jesus Darren, that’s big, what on earth did you buy and how did you keep it hidden?” Chris said, taking the larger of the two gifts off of the table and putting it in front of himself, fingering at the sticky tape.

“Kept you distracted enough talking about birds on the way over here, other than that I’ll never reveal my secrets,” Darren replied with a cheeky wink.

Chris smiled, “You can try and hide your nefarious plans, but I know most of your secrets.”

“Most is not _all_. Open your present.” Darren said.

He watched as Chris peeled back the sticky tape with his lower lip tucked between his teeth and a gleam of determination in his eye. Presents were such a thing for him, everyone on set knew it. No matter how grateful he was to his fans, there was a side of Chris that wanted to savour every second of being adored. Of having someone know him well enough to give him something to treasure and hold onto.

Darren was still pondering that when Chris let out a half-squeal and pulled the bag free of its wrapping. “Oh it’s _awesome_! How did you know I needed a new one?” He asked.

“Well, the fact that you bring your computer to set every day wasn’t a hint at all. It’s apparently not something you think of yourself.” Darren responded.

“Your turn,” Chris said, bouncing a little in his seat.

“Okay.” Darren pulled the black box closer to him. It was taped down and he picked at the tape until the lid came off. Underneath was a foam pillow but under that was a watch and it was possibly the nicest one he’d ever seen. Silver band, black face, and the numbers were marked with silver numbers in calligraphy.

It was so _not_ Darren that it worked perfectly. He knew he wouldn’t wear it often, but something this fancy would work really well with suits at parties and things. “Wow, Chris -- I don’t know what to say, Thank you?”

“Turn it over.” Chris said, watching Darren’s face steadily.

Darren pulled the watch out of it’s box and took the centre stand out, then unclasped it to see the bottom of the face. No silly message, no declaration of love. Not even his name. Just a beautifully engraved Deathly Hallows symbol. Darren smiled.

“Do you like it?” Chris asked, still looking a little worried.

Darren looked up and smiled at him across the table, “It’s fucking perfect.” he said.

Being there with Chris stirred up so many old feelings in Darren, thoughts he thought he’d put away for good over the past year. Having them come back to the surface after so long was confusing in the worst possible way.

Things were easy with Dylan, they had been since the second they had met. Things with Chris were complicated and woven steadily over years of friendship, mixed with a side of utter despair.

He found himself thinking over dessert about what life would have been for them now if they had never broken up in the first place. Would they _be_ together in a more official way? Would they have gotten engaged or just plodded along until something else scared one of them and ended up broken anyway?

Would he even have met Dylan? Probably not, because he would have been sitting with Chris, wholly unapproachable. Would work have been more difficult, their characters breaking up could have bled through to their relationship and caused its own problems. Or it could have been the catalyst for Darren to propose and have the kind of security you get knowing your relationship is solid and deep.

All of this thought was completely beside the point. He had a date tonight; he was on a date right now.

And still, all Darren could think about was how much he didn’t want to choose between the men in his life.

Because no matter how much he wanted to deny it, Chris was just as much a part of his life now as he was years ago. Only now it came with the lingering doubt.

“You look a million miles away,” Chris said from the other side of their shared Chocolate Sundae, “Penny for your thoughts?”

Darren looked up quickly, trying not to let guilt from his wandering thoughts filter into the conversation, “Hmm? Nothing important, we have to get back to work soon.” He replied.

Chris nodded, putting his spoon on the side of the plate, “You’re right, there’s only so long we can stay. It’s been nice though. Thank you.”

Darren laughed, following suit and putting his spoon down too. “You don’t have to thank me, it was just lunch, and it’s not like were not going back to the same place anyway.”

“Yes, but you’re different there. I’m different there, surrounded by so many people. It’s nice just to spend time with _you_ ,” Chris said while standing up, grabbing his bag, and his other bag from the chair beside him.

“Well thank _you_ , Chris. For the pleasure of your company.” Darren said, mock-bowing.

With that they wandered casually back to set to finish the afternoons work.

***

Surprisingly, the afternoon went by fairly fast, at least by Darren’s standards. There was nothing worse than being stuck on set with nothing but your phone or 30 seconds worth of smiling in the background to look forward to.

They managed to be finished by 4pm and Darren was extremely happy with the amount of extra time that allowed for preening and deciding what to wear. Not that he hadn’t already showered or chosen clothes that morning, but he really wanted to put that extra effort in. Again.

He was so fucking _nervous._

Which was both silly and ridiculous, but it was the same thing that kept him from messaging Dylan back straight away after the nights they’d spent together. Things he was used to doing with friends, like tweeting with an @ mention for nothing more than a spiderman joke. He wanted…He had no idea what he wanted and he knew it.

Turning up the radio in the car to an ear-splitting volume, Darren made the trip home in record time. He dumped his bag off by the front door, then picked it up again and threw it at his bed instead. He took the watch out, looked at it again, and then put it back in its box. It definitely would go with his outfit, but it didn’t sit well enough that he should wear it while out with Dylan.

Like he was being unfaithful.

Sighing, Darren stripped off his clothes and headed to the shower, keen to wash out the gel and get rid of the makeup, probably shave again, or not.

When he was finished he collected the little wrapped box with Dylan’s Valentine’s present off of his dresser and looked at it. What if it wasn’t enough? Or worse, too much.

One thing was for sure, if he kept thinking this much, his head might explode.

Re-securing his towel, Darren headed back out to the kitchen and straight to the top shelf, Whiskey. Just what was left of the bottle from their picnic and only one glass. Enough to bubble warmly through his veins and stop the neverending self-doubt.

Knocking back the drink, he went back to his room to change. It was already 5:30 somehow and he should at least get some clothes on before going out.

Ten minutes later he was out the door and on his way to Dylan’s house. Darren had Google Mapped the address while waiting around earlier so he was fairly confident he could find the place okay.

On the way he pulled up to one of many numerous street vendors for a bunch of flowers, struggling again with the too much or too little debate before finally deciding just to go for it.

Darren made it to Dylan’s house at 5:52. He looked at his watch and worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the car and walked up the front lawn towards the door carrying the flowers behind his back.

The butterflies in his stomach were waging a war on each other, but 30 seconds after Darren rang the door Dylan opened it, grinning sheepishly for some reason and with a breathless “Hi.”

“Hi,” Darren replied, holding out the red roses. “They only had red because duh… Valentine’s but it would be remiss of me not to bring them on my _date_.

“You know I’m not going to sleep with you tonight, right?” Dylan said, taking the flowers.

“Pardon?”

Dylan continued. “It seems to be a recurring pattern that I have sex with you and you disappear for three days. That’s not happening tonight. Thank you for the flowers though,” Dylan bent down to kiss Darren’s cheek, “they’re beautiful.”

“Er.” Darren stepped back to look at Dylan properly. He looked wonderful in simple black pants and a maroon button-up. “Our reservation is for 7, so would you like to take a walk - I thought at the pier - first?”

“Sounds awesome,” Dylan replied, stepping out of the house and locking the door behind him.

Darren motioned to the flowers, “Don’t you want to..?”

Dylan shook his head, “Nope. No one’s brought _me_ flowers for Valentine’s before and I’m going to carry them around all evening.”

Smiling, Darren held out his hand to lead Dylan to the car. This was so new. He was going to go out on a very open and public date with Dylan, who was going to hold his flowers and Darren’s hand throughout the evening, and if someone got photos it didn’t matter.

It was a heady feeling.

Darren held the passenger door open while Dylan got in the car, and then he ran to the other side.

“Don’t take this the wrong way...” Dylan started, while Darren got his seatbelt and keys organized, “but I feel very… Unsure about what my role is here.”

“Well, clearly you’re there to look sexy and be my arm candy.” Darren joked back.

“I’m serious,” But Dylan was laughing, “I assume- cause’ you _asked me out_ and brought me the flowers, you’re just...” And apparently, he was not having much luck with words.

Before pulling away from the curb, Darren paused and looked directly at Dylan in the passenger seat. “Dylan, I like you. I’m not in this for the sex - though that was fantastic - I don’t think you’re taking any kind of gender defined role in this date, we’re just two guys going out and the fact that you look hot as hell is just a bonus. Is that okay?”

Dylan nodded, looking down at his flowers again and smiling shyly. “I meant it, you know, no one’s ever brought me flowers before, that was really sweet of you.”

“Anytime.” Darren replied.

They got to the pier a few minutes later. Luckily almost every beach in LA had a boardwalk and this one was close enough that a pre-date walk would hopefully help settle the mood a little.

“I have a present for you in the trunk,” Darren said while they walked towards the pier.

Dylan had a funny expression for a minute then stopped suddenly, “I - Shit!”

“Is everything okay?” Darren asked

“I left your present on the table, I had it all ready to go but _shit_ ,” Dylan said.

Darren had stopped walking too, “do you want to go back and get it?”

“Would you be okay with that? We can walk after dinner if you like?”

Brushing off Dylan’s apologies, Darren led them back to the car and opened the door again for Dylan, “It’s fine, I promise. We have a few minutes to spare anyway. I don’t mind where we are.” The _as long as it’s with you_ remained unspoken. It was too corny anyway.

The trip back to Dylan’s seemed shorter somehow, and Darren waited in the car this time while Dylan ran up the grass and let himself into the house.

He was back a few minutes later, carrying a light blue box that was placed in his lap while he got re-situated in the car. “Right, okay, let’s go.” Dylan said once his seatbelt was on.

***

Darren was glad that he’d made reservations because when they got there, the restaurant was packed with couples and a violinist was playing off in a corner, there to entertain the people eating and those still stuck in the line.

“Mister Criss? I’m Janine, your hostess for this evening, if you would please follow me, your table is ready.” The hostess led them directly to a table in the back.

Before Glee, Darren had never eaten dinner at the back tables, preferring to sit by the windows and watch people walk past, or close to wherever the music was coming from, as if it would improve the meals.

They sat and Janine placed menus on each side of the table. “I’ll be back soon to take your orders. For now, would either of you gentlemen like a drink?”

Darren looked to Dylan, who was scanning his eyes down the menu in front of him. After a few seconds of silence, he looked up and at Janine. “A bottle of the house red and a jug of water for the table, please.” He quickly looked back to Darren. Traditional, classy, and if he kept them small, he would still be able to drive home safely. Darren nodded his head in agreement.

Janine smiled, “Shiraz?”

Dylan looked momentarily confused so Darren answered with a nod and Janine took note before walking away.

“Can I distract you with presents?” Dylan asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Pardon?”

Dylan was blushing and holding tightly onto the edge of the table, “I promise I’ve answered that question before, she just caught me off guard is all.”

Darren winked. “I promise I know you’re old enough to drink.” He distracted himself by putting Dylan’s present on the table in front of him, looking away just long enough to pretend not to notice the red flush deepening further.

“So, I wasn’t quite sure what to get you…” Dylan started, “but hopefully this is something you will, Um. Like.” He put a light blue box on the table and pushed it towards Darren.

Pushing his own present towards Dylan with one hand, Darren picked up the bag and looked inside. There was a palm sized black box in the bottom and he reached in to pull it out. “Hmm, too small to be the car I wanted,” he said with a smile.

Dylan watched Darren enthusiastically, his own present laying abandoned on the table in front of him. Darren opened the box carefully to reveal a set of cufflinks, themed with the words _I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_ and _Mischief Managed._

“Wow, Dylan, they’re gorgeous, thank you.” Darren said, running his finger over the velvet of the setting between them. “I want to put them on _now_.” Luckily he’d chosen a jacket with his outfit and they would fit in with it. Though he probably would have worn them even with a polo..

He struggled for a few seconds, taking the backing off of the first link and placing it on the table. “Here let me,” Dylan said, standing from his chair and walking around the table to help Darren get the links in place.

“They’re awesome. I’m worried my gift doesn’t even compare.” Darren looked woefully at the present still in front of Dylan’s empty chair.

“Do you do that kicked puppy look a lot?” Dylan asked, going to sit back down in his chair and re-arranging a napkin on his lap. “Because I’m not sure my heart can take it,” he finished, then picked up the present slipping a finger under the tape.

It was probably really obvious that there was a glasses case under the wrapping, but Dylan still looked at it with surprise when he’d finished unwrapping it. He ran his thumb across the opening and pulled the sides apart.

“Are these…?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure-”

Dylan held a hand up for Darren to stop talking. Darren did, worried for a minute that yeah, he’d gotten it all completely wrong.

“Did you speak to Tyler?” Dylan asked, picking the Aviators up.

Darren raised his eyebrows at the question, “Uh, no? I just saw them in a shop and I thought you might, er, like them?”

Dylan slipped them over his eyes and, hell _yes_ they looked amazing.

“I have wanted Aviators since I got to wear them in this shoot a few months ago, but I never got around to… I talk about them every other day. They’re fucking amazing, how do they look?” His words came out fast, like someone had shot red cordial straight into his veins.

“Fucking hot,” Darren replied, “and the glasses aren’t bad either.”

Dylan laughed, “Oh god, that’s a terrible line, how could you? Thank you so much, holy shit.” He was babbling now and Darren smiled to himself. He’d gotten it right and with the added bonus that Dylan didn’t already own a pair even though he wanted them.

“Just, _thank you_ ,” he repeated.

Janine came back a few moments later and placed the wine bucket on the table, moving the red bag over to do so. “Would you like me to pour?” She asked, looking between them for confirmation.

Dylan still had his Aviators on and Darren was looking between that and his cufflinks. Darren nodded and turns his attention back towards the menu for the first time all evening. There were a few options; the Chicken, Spinach and Sundried Tomato pasta or more traditional Lasagne with salad. Both were terrible date foods, but they sounded delicious.

Licking his lips Darren went with the Chicken pasta, then got distracted when Dylan’s fingers wrapped around the stem of his wineglass and he swilled the liquid slowly before taking a small sip. Apparently he had ordered too because Janine walked away and Dylan took another sip of wine, more this time, enough to leave a dark wet smudge on his bottom lip, that Darren wanted nothing more than to wipe away with his tongue.

When the food came it felt like only a few minutes had passed, Darren easily getting lost in conversation with Dylan. They ate fairly quickly and had the wine glasses refilled only once.

Darren made sure to drink some water in between, so no one could accuse him of being irresponsible.

Dylan with a fork was distracting. He was a surprisingly demure eater, taking his time to settle the food properly and chew completely each time, all while maintaining a steady rhythm of conversation.

It was a stark difference between the picnic they’d shared back in the treehouse. Dylan was dressed differently too, dark jeans and a gray shirt. Enough to highlight the dark brown of his eyes, and when he smiled the corners of his mouth dimpled and his eyes crinkled.

Dessert could have been porridge for all the interest Darren showed in it. His only complaint was that it was over too quickly, as he watched chocolate pudding being sucked off a spoon in front of him.

He may have focused a little to hard on Dylan’s mouth because when it was over, Darren had to excuse himself to the bathroom long enough to splash some cold water on his face. Now was _not the time_ for inappropriate thoughts.

After dessert Janine offered coffee, but they both passed in favour of finishing the wine and water before heading home.

“We could walk the pier now if you like?” Darren suggested, as he pushed the chair back and slipped his credit card to Janine in a little black book.

Dylan picked up the glasses case from the table and tucked it into his pocket, nodding.

Janine was back a few minutes later with the receipt and passed the card back to Darren while wishing them a good evening.

The walk down the pier ended with Darren and Dylan sitting on a park bench looking out over the water and the stars not saying much of anything. Darren knew it was getting late and he should probably offer to take Dylan home. Instead, he offered a hand to Dylan between them and they sat for a while longer.

Going out on a date with Dylan was a whirl of emotions that Darren hadn't accounted for. He felt like his head had been running around in circles for days, constantly challenging all of his own decisions time and time again.

"It's been an amazing evening, Darren, thank you for everything," Dylan said from the passenger seat. He had a steady smile and was still holding his flowers.

"Thank _you_ , we should do this again sometime.”

Darren walked Dylan to the door and kissed him goodnight, not even surprised how nice kissing him was. He pouted when Dylan gently pushed him back and said, “Goodnight, Darren.”

“Goodnight,” Darren replied before walking back to his car.

It was still so confusing though, how nice each of the dates had been and how much Darren wanted to spend more time with both of them.

He headed home after that, stripped his clothes and landed face first into the bed. Darren found himself smiling into his pillow and kicking his ankles up in the air. Surely there was something wrong with him.

Something wrong with taking time to make a decisions. God, why couldn't he just have both?

 _Both_.

Both would be miles of soft white skin and chestnut hair. Feeling a twinge in his stomach, Darren took a deep breath and turned over, spreading his legs open and letting the cold air hit his naked legs and felt his cock getting more interested by the second. Dylan’s defined stomach in contrast with Chris’s smoothness. Neither had much hair on their bodies, but Dylan had a defined snail trail leading into his shorts and a patch right in the middle. Chris had been forced to wax his.

The familiar motion of Darren running a hand over his own chest caused a tingle down his spine, the anticipation of an amazing orgasam.

He let his mind wander to what it was like to kiss Chris, the way that Dylan's cheeks raised pink every time Darren would run a hand along his arm. Little specific things that drew him to each of them. Trying to come up with a specific _plausible_ scenario.

What did 'it' for Darren was usually imagining sex in the shower, or against a wall. With warm water and a taller guy -- for years it had been Chris -- running a hand down his stomach and thighs, feeling the coarse hair move, the water easing his passage. Adding soap and 'watching' it trickle down along Chris's long torso, past his hips and down his legs.

Darren licked his lips and focused on imagining something new. A good fantasy deserved some thought behind it. How damn good Dylan looked naked, how good he would look standing next to Chris in the shower, and how maybe Darren would be the one standing or sitting off to the side.

Letting Chris run his hands down Dylan's back, Darren would watch eagerly, wrapped in only a towel with evidence of his arousal tenting the front of it.

_Chris, slowly running his palms over Dylan's sides and up to tangle in his hair, darkened by the water. Dylan lowering his mouth to Chris's because he was taller but not by much._

Darren moved his hand to tease at his own thighs, shaking his head to refocus on the fantasy he was creating. _Dylan’s long thighs had hair a few shades darker than Chris’s, his torso just a bit longer._

Wrapping a hand around himself finally, Darren let out a long breath of relief. _Chris pushing Dylan up against the wall of the shower and holding his shoulders against it, kissing him soundly. Their lips would look so perfect together, pink and flushed._

_Dylan moving his down Chris’s neck, sucking a mark in there while Chris shuddered, is ass tensing in pleasure and posture solid._

Darren stopped for a second, reaching over to the side drawer of his bed for some lubricant, almost wishing he was in the shower to make it feel a bit _more_. But then, it was his fantasy.

Getting re-situated and poured some lube onto his hand. He didn’t bother with warming it up, instead feeling his nipples tense with the sudden coolness.

He shifted the scene to a bed, his own, since Darren had never seen Dylan’s and Chris’ was always just a bit _too_ tidy, and it wasn’t big enough.

His bed was bigger, and it was easier to imagine them there. Darren shifted his back across the fabric of his pillows, stroking all the while. Flicking back to Chris laying back on the bed, Dylan with his knees straddled over Chris’s thighs and licking down his chest to his very flushed dick.

Dylan would smile in that cheeky way, like he’d been waiting a lifetime to get to that moment. Darren wondered if they would like being watched, Chris would, he knew that much. But Dylan was quite a bit shyer, in a cute virginal way.

_Chris would put on a show, kissing Dylan a bit harder, or winding fingers into his hair and moaning loudly, arching into the feel of Dylan’s mouth on his dick. His breathing stuttering with pleasure while Dylan’s tongue trailed moisture down his thigh._

Dylan being guided up by his hair to crash his lips to Chris’s. God Chris knew what to do with his mouth. Running his hands down Dylan’s back across the smooth skin of his lower spine, over his ass and down to his thigh, nudging it to bring it a bit higher. Lining their cocks up so Dylan could grind down.

Chris rolling them over and tucking Dylan’s legs underneath him on the bed kissing him deeply and holding himself steady above.

_Shit._

Darren had to slow down, he was so close already, feeling the tell-tail tensing of the muscles in his abdomen. The image of Chris keeping eye contact with Darren while sucking on Dylan’s neck was still firmly behind his eyelids.

Slowing down was easier said than done though, and there wasn’t much that could stop the onrushing feeling of climbing towards a peak in Darren’s limbs.

He focused on breathing, trying to settle himself just long enough to enjoy the build, but kept steadily stroking himself.

_Dylan watching Chris go to town on his cock, he groaned loudly. His eyes go glassy as he gets closer to coming._

Darren’s pace quickened, wanting nothing more than to join him.

_Minutes or hours pass like that, until Dylan looks at Darren._

Chris with his mouth around Dylan’s cock as far as he could go and Dylan looking directly at Darren. Holding Dylan’s eyes as he came because of Chris had to be the most erotic thing he’s seen in… Ever.

Darren arched up unconsciously, his muscles tightening until they were seized in place and he spilled over his fist without warning.

Buzzing, warm and sweaty he breathed again moments later, his ears ringing from the sheer intensity of his orgasam.

He could only imagine what it would be like to act that scene out in reality.

**Author's Note:**

> a HUGE thank you to em twobirdsonesong for the beta and jen froggydarren for ALL the support.


End file.
